This is the third article in the series, The Five W’s of Writing (Who, What, When, Where, and Why).
Do you have a special place to do your writing? Or, do you write wherever you are? The key is to find what works best for you.
Home Office: The very word “office” conjures up visions of desk work. Many writers say they get more done when they work in their designated writing place. It’s not necessarily a whole room, just a space set aside just for writing. This has worked well for author Jim Watkins, who has used the same writing desk for his whole career. Here’s what my writing space looks like. And, take a look at two other writers’ home offices. First, there’s Brenda Coulter. And, finally—get ready to have a serious fit of envy— Jerry Jenkins’ home office, The Cave.
Coffee Shop: Some of my writing teachers have suggested that writing in public places gives you ideas that you would not get otherwise. Today’s coffee shops and fast food restaurants with wireless Internet make it easy to write in public without being obvious about it. Here’s an article by Nancy Warren on “brewing up inspiration.” Professional writer Lee Warren has a different opinion.
Public Library: When I need to get away from the distractions of home, I take my laptop to my public library. It goes without saying that libraries are generally quieter than other public places, and ours has both indoor and outdoor tables and chairs, and a number of sofas scattered around the building—plus wireless Internet service. Rebecca Seitz, author of four novels with a scrapbooking theme, has done much of her fiction writing in our library. See her “Writing Process” article, especially noting numbers 35-37.
While Driving: Now, I admit that this never occurred to me until I heard Mark Whitlock describe how he used a transcription service to get his ideas on paper. When Mark was with Thomas Nelson Publishers, he taught a conference workshop on getting past writers’ block. He shared that he engaged a transcription service to put his words in a text file that would be sent to him via email. He often phoned in his writing ideas while driving or when he was too tired to write it down himself.
What about you? Do you find that it makes any difference where you write? Share your ideas by commenting on this post.
Other “Where” Articles:
I usually write in my messy office which I wrote about on my blog at http://www.pathwaystopublication.blogspot.com. After reading your article, I agree that I write better on my laptop at camp. I am not connected to the Internet unless we drive into town and visit a coffee shop, so I get more writing done in the motor home or sitting under the trees.
Come to think of it, Internet availability can be a real distraction. Thanks for the comment, Sue.